Cherry Plum Zlato Of The Scythians: Description Of The Variety, Advantages And Disadvantages, Planting And Care Features + Photos And Reviews

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 22:26

Cherry plum Zlato of the Scythians - one of the best representatives of the Russian plum

Cherry plum is a southern plant. In the wild, it is found in the Caucasus and Tien Shan, the Balkans and the Crimea, in Central and Asia Minor. Cultural forms have also been grown there for a long time. Until recently, this fruit tree was not known to gardeners in more northern regions. Now, thanks to the work of breeders, this plant can be cultivated even in the center of Russia. Such a variety of Russian plum, or hybrid cherry plum, is the Gold of the Scythians.

Content

• 1 Description of cherry plum Gold of the Scythians

  1.1 Table: advantages and disadvantages of the variety

• 2 Planting cherry plum

  • 2.1 Preparing the landing site
  • 2.2 Planting seedlings and pollinators

• 3 Plant care

  • 3.1 Cropping

    3.1.1 Video: trimming cherry plum

  • 3.2 Fertilization
  • 3.3 Watering
  • 3.4 Whitewashing
  • 3.5 Loosening the soil and removing weeds
  • 3.6 Shelter for the winter

• 4 Diseases and pests

  • 4.1 Table: Disease Control and Prevention
  • 4.2 Photo gallery: cherry plum diseases
  • 4.3 Table: how to deal with pests
  • 4.4 Photo gallery: cherry plum pests
• 5 Harvesting and photo of fruits
• 6 Reviews of gardeners

Description of cherry plum Gold of the Scythians

This variety is obtained from the seedling of cherry plum Kuban comet by free pollination. The authors of the variety are scientists from the Moscow Agricultural Academy. K. A. Timiryazev. It was introduced into the State Register of the Russian Federation in 2005 and zoned in the Central Region of Russia.

An adult cherry plum is a medium-sized tree up to 4 m high, with a branched, but sparse oval crown. Thick shoots are quite abundantly covered with large, elongated, light green leaves with a pointed tip. When cherry plum blooms, it is densely covered with medium-sized white flowers that attract a large number of insects.

Cherry plum attracts many insects during flowering

The fruits of this variety are oval-round, large in size (30–35 g), with a flat surface with a subtle lateral seam. The skin is thick, there is a waxy coating. The fruit is bright yellow in color. The pulp is of the same color, dense and juicy, with a very good sweet and sour taste and a pronounced pleasant aroma. The stone is medium, with difficulty separating from the pulp.

The mass of cherry plum fruits Zlato Scythians - about 30 g

Table: advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Advantages	disadvantages
Excellent taste and appearance of the fruit.	Self-infertility.
Versatility of use.	Weak level of disease resistance.
Early maturation.	Low winter hardiness of flower buds.
Early maturity.	Short shelf life of fruits.
Good adaptability to growing conditions.	Low transportability.
Constant, fairly high yield.

Planting cherry plum

The best seedling age is 1-2 years. Planting of three-year-old plants is also possible, but in this case you need to be prepared for the fact that they will require more careful care. When buying, you should inspect the bark of the tree - it should not have wounds, cuts, various detachments and dried out areas. Particular attention should be paid to the roots, in addition to a healthy central conductor, a healthy seedling has lateral branches and thin roots. For spring purchases, inspect the buds, which should be slightly swollen and have a greenish tint.

The choice of a seedling must be approached responsibly and carefully.

Preparing the landing site

The place for planting cherry plums should be sunny and sheltered from the wind. You can plant a tree near the southern wall of the house, so additional protection will be obtained during frosts. Cherry plum is unpretentious to the composition of the soil, but it develops better on loams with a neutral alkaline reaction.

The landing pit is prepared in the fall. Planting cherry plum for the winter is not worth it: a young tree may not tolerate cold weather. The size of the hole depends on the size of the root system, but you need to focus on the diameter and depth of 0.7 m. Pour in two buckets of any organic fertilizers and leave until spring for the soil to settle.

The diameter and depth of the planting pit for cherry plum - 0.7 m

Planting seedlings and pollinators

Cherry plum seedlings are planted in mid-April, before the leaves begin to bloom. Landing is a sequence of simple operations:

1. Pour 0.3 kg of superphosphate and 0.1 kg of potassium sulfate into the prepared pit, mix with organic matter.
2. Drive in a peg to support the seedling.
3. Place the plant on a mound formed at the bottom of the hole and fill the hole with soil halfway (make sure that the grafting site is 5-10 cm above the soil level).
4. Pour out a bucket of water.
5. Top up the soil to the desired level.
6. Pour out the second bucket of water.

When planting a seedling, you need to carefully spread the roots

Cherry plum is self-fertile, so there must be pollinating plants nearby to get high yields. The varieties Pavlovskaya zheltaya, Podarok St. Petersburg, Rubinovaya, as well as any Chinese plums, performed well in this capacity. The best option would be to have three different pollinators.

Plant care

Cherry plum care consists of pruning, fertilizing, whitewashing, watering, removing weeds with simultaneous loosening of the soil, shelter for the winter.

Pruning

It is recommended to form alychu Zlato Scythians according to a sparse-tiered system. The main work is carried out in the first 5 years of tree growth, in subsequent years, sanitary, health and rejuvenating activities are carried out.

1. It is necessary to start the formation of a sparse-tiered crown in the year of planting: cut the central shoot at a height of about 0.6-0.7 m from the ground, shorten 3-4 of the most developed branches (if any) by 10-15 cm, remove the rest.
2. In the second year, from the young shoots that formed higher than those left last year, 3-4 branches should also be preserved and slightly shortened. The rest, except last year's, are cut to the point of growth. On the branches of the first tier, you need to leave 3-4 shoots.
3. The third tier will consist of a single branch from the topmost bud. The entire period of plant growth is pruned, maintaining a length of about 0.5 m.

The process of forming a sparse-tiered crown takes 3-5 years

During the sanitary pruning of mature trees (in spring and autumn), all damaged, drying out and thickening branches are removed. Dates - the spring onset of steady heat and the end of the autumn leaf fall.

Video: pruning cherry plum

Fertilizer

You don't need to fertilize cherry plum in the year of planting. In the future, top dressing is recommended to be applied twice a season - in spring and autumn, tying work to the time of pruning.

1. In the spring, you can scatter a mixture of mineral fertilizers over the entire area of the trunk circle: 100 g of ammonium nitrate, 50 g of superphosphate and 50 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m ². These doses are approximate, depending on the saturation of the soil with minerals, they can be reduced or increased.
2. In the fall, the greatest benefit will be from applying organic fertilizers under the tree. Humus or compost in a layer 20 cm thick will simultaneously function as mulch and serve as insulation for the root system in the cold season.

Organic fertilizers applied in the fall also serve as a heater

Watering

Gold of the Scythians is a drought-resistant variety and does not particularly need watering. The greatest need for moisture occurs during the setting and ripening of fruits, therefore, in the absence of rain for a long time during this period, it is advisable to water the plant. The presence of additional moisture will have a positive effect on the quality of the fruit.

Watering of a young tree is carried out in a hole, an adult - in a ditch dug around the trunk 1 m from it. The trench is 10–15 cm deep and 20 cm wide.

Watering a young tree is carried out in a near-stem hole

Whitewash

When whitewashing, the main attention should be paid to autumn work: the lime mortar destroys the pests hidden in the cracks in the bark and prevents burns of the trunk and branches. When whitewashing in spring, it is necessary to add copper or iron vitriol to the liquid (dilute the slaked lime with water to the consistency of liquid sour cream and add 2 tablespoons of vitriol to 5 liters of the mixture), which will help the healing of frostbites and prevent pests from climbing the tree along the trunk. You need to whitewash the stem with the capture of the base of the skeletal branches.

Whitewashing prevents sunburn and pest spread

Loosening the soil and removing weeds

Weed control should be carried out as needed, avoiding cluttering the soil under the tree. At the same time, the trunk circle is loosened, which improves ventilation of the surface layer of the earth.

Shelter for the winter

There is no need to perform any special measures to prepare for the cold for the Zlata of the Scythians. This variety of cherry plum is quite frost-resistant, therefore, work on introducing organic matter that warms the upper layer of the root system and whitewashing the trunk should be enough.

Strapping the trunk with synthetic fabrics will protect the trunk from rodents

Diseases and pests

One of the significant disadvantages of the Scythian cherry plum Zlato is its low resistance to diseases.

Table: disease control and prevention

Disease	The nature of the defeat	Processing period	Means of struggle	Preventive measures
Moniliosis (monilial burn)	Ovaries, leaves, shoots turn brown and dry, the fruits are mummified.	Before bud break.	Spraying with copper-containing preparations (according to the instructions for the preparation).	Prevention of thickening of the crown, timely pruning.
Phylostictosis (brown spot)	Small spots appear on the leaves, the lower surface is covered with a brown coating, the greenery dries up and falls off.	Before flowering.	Spraying with a solution of 1% Bordeaux liquid (100 g per 10 l of water).	Weed removal. Collection and destruction of fallen leaves.
Rust	The formation of increasing red spots on the leaves. The affected foliage falls off.	Before flowering.	Copper oxychloride treatment (100 g per 10 l of water).	Collection and destruction of fallen leaves.
Powdery mildew	A light bloom appears on the buds, which moves to the shoots. A gray mesh forms on the leaves and fruits. The affected parts of the plant dry up.	Before bud break.	Spraying with a solution of 1% Bordeaux liquid (100 g per 10 l of water) or potassium permanganate (1.5 g per 10 l of water)	Collection and destruction of fallen leaves.
Smallpox	Leaves and fruits are covered with spots of a light green color, which dry and crumble.	Does not respond to treatment.	Removal of infected plants (the disease must be reported to the quarantine inspection).	Extermination of sucking insects. Weed removal. Collection and destruction of fallen leaves.

Photo gallery: cherry plum diseases

Moniliosis destroys ovaries, fruits and leaves

Phylosticosis causes early fall of foliage

Rust is activated at high temperatures

Powdery mildew can attack the entire plant very quickly.

Smallpox is not treatable, so the infected tree must be uprooted

Insects-pests cause great damage to the cherry plum Gold of the Scythians.

Table: how to deal with pests

Pest	The nature of the defeat	Processing period	Means of struggle	Preventive measures
Plum moth	Lays the larvae inside the fetus.	During the period of fruit formation.	Treatment with Chlorophos (30 g per 10 l of water) or its analogue.	Digging the soil. Collection and destruction of affected fruits.
Yellow plum sawfly	The larva infects the bone and pulp; damaged fruits do not develop.	Before flowering.	Processing with Karbofos (according to the instructions).	Digging the soil of the near-stem circle.
Downy silkworm	Lays eggs in nests of leaves, pulling them together with cobwebs, caterpillars feed on buds and foliage.	After flowering.	Processing with Karbofos, Tiofos, Karbolineum (according to the instructions).	Autumn setting of trapping belts and traps.
Fruit sapwood	The larvae hatched from the eggs laid under the bark gnaw out the wood. The tree grows poorly, the number of fruits decreases.	When heaps of dust are found under a tree.	Subcortical injections of Decis, Sherpa preparations (according to the instructions).	Autumn and spring whitewashing with the addition of vitriol.
Western unpaired bark beetle	The larvae damage the bark of the tree, gnawing out many passages, and feed on the sap of the plant. As a result, the crust flakes off and dies off.	When holes are found in the bark.	Podkorovye injections of insecticides Confidor-Maxi, Calypso, Antizhuk, Empire-20 (according to the instructions). Fill the holes with garden pitch.	Autumn and spring whitewashing with the addition of vitriol.

Photo gallery: cherry plum pests

The larva of the plum moth feeds on the pulp of the fruit

It is important to notice the yellow plum sawfly as early as possible.

The larva of the yellow plum sawfly destroys the young ovary

The down silkworm butterfly lays eggs in leaf nests

Down silkworm caterpillars are unusually voracious

Fruit sapwood gnaws tunnels under the bark and lays larvae in them

Western unpaired bark beetle appears in warm weather

The larvae of the western unpaired bark beetle gnaw through the passages in the middle of the plant, damaging the trunk and young branches

Harvesting and photo of fruits

On the plants of the Scythian plum Zlato, the first fruits will appear 4–5 years after planting. The tree does not have a pronounced periodicity of fruiting - it rests about once every five years. Fruit picking, depending on the region, begins in mid-July - early August.

The fruits of the Zlato Scythian variety are not stored for long

Fruit ripening is uneven, so the collection has to be carried out several times. You need to pick the cherry plum in dry weather, without separating it from the stalk, try not to shake the tree, since the fallen fruits cannot be used. The average yield of Zlata Scythians is 30–40 kg of fruit. Plucked fruits should be put into wooden boxes and stored for no more than 15 days at a temperature of 2-5 ⁰ C.

The fruits of cherry plum Zlato of the Scythians, due to their excellent taste, are consumed fresh, and also processed. Jam, jam, marmalade and other dishes are prepared from them; after freezing or drying, compotes can be prepared.

Delicious jam is made from cherry plum

Gardeners reviews

The variety of Russian plum (or hybrid cherry plum), the Scythian Gold is one of the most widespread. Unpretentiousness, early ripening and fruit taste have become the determining factors in the popularity gained.